Dear Friends,
I never fail to wonder at the beauty of God’s creation. As I write this, every few moments I take the opportunity to look out of the window to take in the beauty of my surroundings. I feel extremely fortunate and truly blessed to live in an area of such natural beauty, surrounded by trees, fields and a river filled with so much wild life.
My garden is my main hobby and I enjoy every available opportunity to work out there. I marvel at the transformation and growth of seeds into beautiful flowers and edible delights. I eagerly anticipate the unbelievable taste of the first home grown tomato, potato or bean.
But hard work is necessary to preserve the beauty of the garden or weeds will rapidly take over and choke precious plants and in an amazingly short time beautiful places can revert to wilderness.Of course we can appreciate the beauty and wonder of God’s creation in so many other ways, through the architecture of bustling cities, the power of the raging seas, in art and music, and of course in the pinnacle of God’s creation, the birth of a child.
But it is in my garden that I can observe the delicate ecological balance of creation, and how soon it can be spoiled. We have recently had to take down a very large old ash tree and it is amazing the difference it has made to the rest of the garden. What was previously a dark woodland area now basks in hot sunshine, and now only can support sun loving plants. The balance of that part of the garden has completely changed. It is in the garden also that the structures and layers of natural life can be viewed by the interdependence of insects, birds, plants and animals.
Nature is sometimes be described as cruel, as when we see animals or birds devouring one another, but in reality, it is we human beings who are responsible for the worst destruction of our planet.
How God must weep when he sees the mess that we get into. He gave us a perfect world that we have spoilt with our selfish behaviour and intolerance of each other. The environment is becoming ravaged by our greed.
Bishop Alastair urges us to do all we can to go Green for God.
On our Diocesan website he tells us “The importance of caring for our natural world as part of our every day commitment to Christian living can not be underestimated. Environmental imbalances, caused by our pollution, disregard for proper waste management and mistreatment of natural resources, are responsible for much suffering worldwide. As Christians, our response must be to take action, to be examples of good practice, protecting, nurturing and repairing our damaged environment”.
“The Five Marks of Mission express the fundamental purposes of the church, backed by the Anglican Consultative Council, the Lambeth Conference of Bishops and the General Synod. The Fifth Mark is: To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth.”The good practices that we are recommended to follow can be viewed, again, via the Diocesan website www.derby.anglican.org/environment or via www.shrinkingthefootprint.cofe.anglican.org.
Amongst others things we are encouraged to:
Turn off lights & TVs when not in use
Turn down heating and hot water thermostats
Not to overfill the kettle
Only use the washing machine for a full load, or use the half load option if you have one
Not to leave the fridge door open
Have a shower rather than a bath
Replace ordinary bulbs with low energy lightbulbs (CFLs)
Replace old hot water tank jackets
Insulate hot water pipes
Eliminate draughts with DIY draught proofing
Try walking or cycling for shorter journeys
Use the bus or train
Try car sharing
When next buying car, consider a smaller engine (if buying second-hand) or a car with lower emissions (if buying new)God’s creation is interdependent. We have been created to trust in him, but also to help and care for one another and the creation over which we have been appointed stewards. We are trusted to maintain the delicate, careful balance of the natural world as God intended it to be. Perhaps we cannot heal all the hurts already caused, or rectify all our mistakes, but we can take action. We can change both individually and as church fellowships. We can, as our Christian duty, set out to deepen public awareness of the need to preserve and enhance the environment. We can work together to prevent God’s beautiful garden becoming a wilderness unable to sustain the fulfilling life that God intends us to enjoy. We owe it to God and to future generations to maintain God’s wonderful and beautiful creation and allow it to heal and flourish.
So let us follow Bishop Alastair’s advice and go green for God.
With my best wishes to you all,
Celia Kelly